From Noah Ebije, Kaduna

Kaduna State Governor,  Mallam Nasir el-Rufai, yesterday, went down memory lane when  he recalled the encouragement he received from President Muhammadu Buhari.

El-Rufai said Buhari was then the APC presidential candidate.

He said but for Buhari, he wouldn’t have been the governor of Kaduna State.

El-Rufai also said he would have lost the election that brought him to power if not for the Card Reader introduced by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC).

The governor disclosed this yesterday when he performed the closing ceremony of the 2-day Economic Summit for investors interested in doing business in the state.

El-Rufai said he was still wondering why people still refer to him as a nice governor, despite demolition of illegal structures by government.

He, however, appreciated Kaduna people for giving him 1.2 million votes during the gubernatorial election, alleging  that without the card reader,  the Peoples Democratic Party ( PDP) would have rubbed him of the victory.

“I want to pay tribute to President Muhammadu Buhari who ensured that I became the governor of Kaduna State. It was President Muhammadu Buhari that forced me to contest for the governorship race of Kaduna State in revenge for persuading him to run the presidential race.

“If he had not asked me to run for the governorship,  I wouldn’t have stood before you today as the governor of Kaduna State.

“It is the Buhari phenomenon that had swept away the PDP.  Buhari is a man of integrity,  a Nigerian leader whose name has not been found in the Panama documents.

“The president inherited 16 years of impunity,  and it will take time to clean it up,  so, all Nigerians need to be patient with him. And, with the quality of leaders we have in the country,  Nigeria will take its rightful place in the comity of nations.

“I wonder why people still refer to me as a nice governor  even when I demolished their houses.  I am not a nice governor.

“I thank the people of Kaduna State for voting for us. We did not pay kobo to get those votes,  if it were in those days without the card reader, we would have lost the election…

“I promise you, we will keep working until we make this state a better place for you.”

-Sun